Orthorexia
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What is orthorexia?
As you all know, healthy eating can lead to more beneficial
improvements in health and a person's well-being. However, for some people,
healthy eating can become an eating disorder known as Orthorexia. Orthorexia
is the term for a condition that includes symptoms of obsessive behaviour in
pursuit of a healthy diet. In other words, When someone has Orthorexia, they
need to keep up a perfect diet, rather than their weight. A person who has
Orthorexia will try to eat foods that make them feel healthy. Having enthusiasm
for a healthy diet only becomes orthorexia when it starts to affect physical,
social, or mental health.
How common is Orthorexia?
It can be hard to tell the difference between Orthorexia and having a
concern with healthy eating. For this reason, a person could have orthorexia but
it can go undiagnosed. It's more common in women than men, especially
teenage girls. Orthorexia is also more common in athletes and students.
Facts about Orthorexia:
1. Orthorexia is not considered a health disorder, because it is new to the
health community.
2. Entire food groups often get eliminated, this is due to a person with
orthorexia often eating what they think is healthy for them.
3. A person with Orthorexia won't start eating healthy because of their body
image.
4. A person with orthorexia will have an obsession with checking the labels
and ingredients.
5. Severe emotional distress can occur. This means when someone who has
orthorexia doesn't eat something with clean ingredients, it can lead to
them having anxiety, severe guilt or even depression.
6. Orthorexia is often associated with Anxiety disorders.
7. The symptoms and consequences of orthorexia and anorexia are very
similar.
8. They will not eat dessert or cake on their birthday and they won't have an
alcoholic drink either on a celebration.
9. Spend several hours preparing food they think will make them healthy.
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10.They won't even eat out. This is because they have no control over how
the food is made or what goes into it. They consider eating outside food
unhealthy.
Orthorexia can lead to
● Osteopenia and osteoporosis (bone density loss)
● Anemia (low iron)
● Hyponatremia (low sodium)
● Metabolic acidosis (Stomach making too much acid or kidneys not
removing enough acid from body)
● Low blood cell counts
● Testosterone deficiency
● Emphysema (long-term, progressive disease of the lungs that primarily
causes shortness of breath due to over-inflation of the alveoli)
● Cardiovascular disease
● Digestive troubles
People with orthorexia may also experience many short-term health problems,
such as:
● Fatigue
● Difficulty concentrating
● Sleep disorders
● Slow heart rate
● Dry skin
● Brittle hair
● Digestive troubles
Fortunately, like other eating disorders, help is available for people living
with orthorexia. Since the condition is still new to the medical community, there
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is currently no standard clinical treatment plan available for the disorder.
However, many medical professionals treat the condition in much the same way
they treat anorexia. Often, orthorexia can be successfully managed with
cognitive behavioural therapy(Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is a type of
psychotherapeutic treatment that helps patients understand the thoughts and
feelings that influence behaviours. A trained counsellor can teach healthy
thought patterns regarding stress management and food. Anti-anxiety
medications can be helpful as well.
Orthorexia might not be like the other eating disorders and might not be
as common as anorexia, even though it’s still a problem and its effects can be
fatal. While a person may be eating what they think is healthy, there not
focussing on their weight either. Once a person’s weight goes above average or
to the point where it’s not healthy, that’s another problem adding to the list of
problems orthorexia can create. It’s not bad to eat healthy food, in fact, eating
healthy is very good for you, but if you go past the line and eat whatever you
think is healthy then that’s not healthy at all. Doing that defeats the whole
purpose of eating healthy. Even though orthorexia is still new and not
considered an eating disorder, it is still very serious. Eating healthy is the right
thing to do, but if you feel you’re not healthy enough, then go to a doctor or a
professional who will actually tell you the truth. Whether it’s going on a diet,
eating properly or exercising, it’s important not to overwork your body and go
way past what actually is important. I personally chose orthorexia as my eating
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disorder to talk about but all the other eating disorders are important too,
whether it is anorexia, bulimia or anything else, eating disorders have long term
effects and they can damage a person both physically and mentally. I hope in the
future people will choose to eat healthier and not make foolish decisions like
starving themselves or constantly dieting. It’s up to us to set an example for the
next generation. If we don't, who knows, there might not be a second
generation. I hope from my report you all learned a thing or two about
orthorexia.
